Hardship
by vegetasbubble
Summary: AU. Daryl is a lone wolf, the last lone wolf walking the country. Not long ago he was part of a family but hardships, deaths and family secrets have pushed him out of his family and to a life alone. When an unexpected call from home alerts him to a serious and secret emergency, Daryl wonders if anything has changed. Maybe even her. BETHYL.
1. Prologue

**Title: **Hardship**  
>Author:<strong> vegetasbubble  
><strong>Summary: <strong>AU. Daryl is a lone wolf, the last lone wolf walking the country. Not long ago he was part of a family but hardships, deaths and family secrets have pushed him out of his family and to a life alone. When an unexpected call from home alerts him to a serious and secret emergency, Daryl wonders if anything has changed. Maybe even her. BETHLY.  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> The Walking Dead  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Daryl x Beth  
><strong>Warning(s):<strong> Course Language, Violence, Sexual References and Scenes and Supernatural Themes.  
><strong>Authors Notes:<strong> Anyone who has been watching Bitten can obviously see my obsession with werewolves at the moment (Clayton Danvers anyone?) and the overall theme just screamed Bethly to me. No idea how long this one will be, honestly I haven't chosen how I want to end it. Any reviews and feedback are much appreciated.

**Prologue : Lace and Leather**

_His hands roamed her body, up her freshly shaven legs and enjoyed the feeling of her silken legs against his calloused hands. His lips touched against her ear, his tongue creeping out and licking the shell of her ear. Her moans were enough to encourage him to continue his assault of her skin. _

_"More," she panted against his cheek as his hand hiked up higher and touched against the edge of her black lace panties. Lips against lips makes them both moan as his finger slipped inside her panties and against her sweetness, "Gods yes!"_

_"Want more, baby?" he whispered against her skin. Her hands clutched at his shoulders, at the leather jacket he wore and pushed it off him. Her hands then clutched at his simple black tee and pulled it over his head, smacking their lips back together as soon as his lips were free. Finally, his finger entered her as her hands groped at his skin and her nails dug into his chest._

_"Hnn," she grunted, lips finding his again as his fingers played with her and brought her pleasure. His hardness pressed against the zipper and button of his jeans. She cloud feel it, against her leg and wanted him, more and more each second. "D-Daryl..."_

He shot up out of bed, the sound of her voice waking him from the pleasant and lust filled dream he had been having. The erection that was currently tenting his black sheets was evidence of that. "Mother-fuck," he hissed, throwing his sheets of himself and heading for the shower to cool down. It had been almost five years since he had seen her, since he had left them all and every time he dreamed of her, it made him remember.

Stripping his clothes, Daryl stepped into the shower stall of his too small bathroom. The one bedroom apartment he lived in was enough for him. The bar tending job he had gotten at the bar around the corner was the perfect distance from the apartment to walk, though his black motorbike was in the apartment building garage when being in the city was too much and Daryl needed to get away.

His erection soon went away after the cool water ran over his hardened body. Fifteen minutes later, Daryl stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his hips, leaning over the skink and sighing heavily.

The shrill call from his cell phone, sitting on the nightstand in his bedroom, snapped him from the silence he was enjoying. Holding on side of the towel, Daryl made his way into the bedroom and picked up his phone.

HERSHEL GREENE.

The name flashed on the screen and Daryl paled at the thought of answering. "You've gotta be kiddin' me," he grunted. The phone continued to ring and ring until daryl gave up and answered it.

"Hello, packmaster."

"Daryl, we have a problem. You need to come home."

**To Be Continued...**

**Hi all, new story, I know, slap me silly and tell me to stop but the ideas are just leaking out everywhere. I have about a twenty chapter progression for this story so far but that may be longer or shorter, depending on the length of each chapter or the reviews and how people see or like the story. **


	2. One

**One: Ambushed**

"You shouldn't have called him," Shane Walsh muttered, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned next to Rick Grimes. Hershel Greene, the sixty three year old packmaster of the oldest and largest pack in North America sighed heavily and placed his phone down on the table.

"He needs to be here," Hershel replied, running a hand through his hair and leaning back in his chair, "its his family to."

"She's all our family," Shane snapped.

"And she's my daughter!" Hershel yelled, standing and knocking the chair down behind him.

"Hershel," Rick reminded him. Hershel sighed and rubbed his nose with his fingers. He nodded to his second and Rick nudged Shane's shoulder and mentioned his head towards the door. Shane followed, unhappily and closed the door behind him.

"You shouldn't have yelled at Shane, daddy," a small voice called from the window. Hershel looked up and eyed his youngest daughter, sitting on the window box. Dressed in a simple white dress with ballet flats, Beth Greene looked out from the upstairs window across the almost two hundred acres they owned.

"He questioned me," Hershel replied, "and he has no right."

Beth simply nodded and turned back towards the window. "So, he's coming home, then?" Hershel joined his young daughter by the window, a soft hand resting on her delicate shoulder.

"Yes Beth. Your husband is coming home."

Daryl sighed heavily as he sped past the sign that welcomed him to the home he never wanted to return to. His bike had gotten him there fairly quickly, in just about five hours. As the "GREENE" estate came into view he groaned inwardly. Five years may have been a long time for some, but to Daryl it seemed like only yesterday that he had left.

He parked his bike in the driveway, turning the engine off and planting a leather booted foot on the pebble-stone driveway. A police cruiser sat in the driveway, along with a few other cars that Daryl vaguely recalled.

"Son of a bitch," came a voice from the doorway. Daryl looked up and spotted Shane Walsh, the man who hated him from the moment he joined Hershel at their home.

"Hey to you to," Daryl replied, taking his helmet off and placing it under his arm while he grabbed his leather bag off the back of the bike before slinging it over his shoulder. He made his way up the stairs to pass by Shane, who stepped towards him and bumped against his shoulder. Daryl stopped, suppressed a growl and clenched his fist. "Move," he rasped out and shoved past Shane. Entering the house without even knocking, Daryl dumped his bag and helmet on a table in the entryway.

"You're back," another voice said, making Daryl roll his eyes and smile.

"Mother-fucker," Daryl laughed, turning and accepting the hug his old friend offered. Rick Grimes and Daryl were close friends and Rick had been one of the people Daryl had confided in about leaving, almost a year before he left.

"You ol' bastard you," Rick replied, hugging his friend.

"Glad to see you too."

"Daryl," a third and more involved voice stated. Departing from his friend's arms, Daryl looked towards his packmaster. Hershel Greene stood on the stairs, hand resting on the banister. "Upstairs." Daryl nodded and followed Hershel up the stairs and into the room he dreaded.

Her room.

**So, chapter one is now posted. What was all that about being a husband? Hmm... well, maybe we will find out next chapter huh? Lots to happen up next. Thanks again for reading. **


	3. Two

**AN:** Long time, no update. I know, again I suck. But I just watched the latest episode of Bitten and decided to give you guys this piece of… well, whatever this is. Lets just say it's a bit of then and a bit of now. Also… (SPOILERS) who's excited for this week's Walking Dead? Was that handholding I saw there for a microsecond? Lets hope the relationship is taking a more romantic walk.

**Two: Reunion**

Daryl followed Hershel up the stairs, down the hallway that held photos from years past. "Glad to see you back again," his pack master stated, "after so long."

"Needed a break," Daryl said sternly, shrugging his shoulders. Hershel chuckled and stopped in front of a door. Her door, her room.

"She doesn't deserve this, she's innocent in this Daryl."

"I know."

"No, you don't. Her life in the human world is over, she's trapped."

Daryl wanted nothing more than to beat the door down and take the young girl in his arms. Hershel wouldn't allow it, he knew, so patiently, he waited. "He's coming after her – all of us, to get to her. He'll kill me and you and everyone we hold dear, just so he can claim her from you." Turning, he eyed Daryl sternly. "He'll take her in front of you and make her watch as he kills you."

Daryl clenched his fists. No one would touch her, not after last time. "It won't fuckin' happen," Daryl stated, stepping forward and grabbing the doorhandle. Hershel clamped his hand down on Daryl's shoulder.

"You will look after her. As her husband and as her pack-mate." Nodding gently, Daryl turned the doorhandle and let himself inside.

The sound of the door closing made her jump from her position at the window. She turned her head and her eyes widened. Five years had changed him. Beth knew every line, every curve and every hair but seeing his longer hair, eyes that looked dark and tired and a body that went on for days made the years seemed welcome. "Hey," she whispered, leaning her back against the window-frame.

He stepped forward, unsure on if to join her at the window or stay where he was. "Yer dad's still on this husband thing," Daryl said, crossing his arms over his chest and smiling gently when the corner of her mouth lifted.

"Technically he's right," she replied, "even without the real vows and rings and the piece of paper of the human celebration, we are married by pack, Daryl. You claimed me, and I you. Don't get me wrong; I always wanted the big white wedding and was waiting for you to ask, before you left."

Daryl shrugged; sitting down on her bed – their bed – he eyed her. "I never claimed you," he whispered, "I loved you."

"Past tense I see," she whispered, showing a sad smile. Slowly, Beth grasped the edge of her sundress and lifted it slightly, just above her knee. Daryl winced when he saw the mark, the bite, which he had placed there six years earlier. It was healed now, only a faint scar marred her perfect creamy skin and could only be seen if someone had known it was there.

"Beth… I… "

_Eight years earlier_

_Night had fallen and Beth had come home early from school. In one week she would graduate high school and her father had pushed and pushed for her to finish. Maggie and Shawn, her older siblings, were already off at college and Beth, being the youngest, knew better than to worry her father._

_As Beth rolled into the estate that she had lived on her whole life, her old beat up car (a birthday present from her father) rumbled down the drive and parked in the front. Hoping out, Beth took her bag and made her way inside. _

"_I don't like him, pack master," a voice rang out from the living room. Beth knew it was the voice of Shane Walsh, one of the pack. She peaked her head around the corner and spotted her father, Rick Grimes and Shane standing in the middle of the room. "He comes from no where and just wants to join us here."_

"_Your point is taken Shane, but he's one of us. Better him here than out God knows where."_

_It was then, as her father stepped aside to pour himself a glass of brandy that she noticed a young man, probably no more than twenty-three sitting on the couch. He looked tired and she could tell he hadn't yet had the change. Beth had been three when her father had been bitten and he had changed almost a week later. At the age of seven, her father was the pack master of the strongest pack in North America. Each time they changed, a new scar or lined stayed where it had been. This young man, before them all, had no scars. Not yet._

"_He's young Shane, like you were once." Beth took that moment to leave and run upstairs to the sanctuary of her bedroom. _

"Daryl, I'm not asking anything of you as my husband," she whispered, "but I ask you as my pack-mate to help protect us, my father included. I know he likes to act tough and brave but I know that deep down he's scared. Scared that something will happen and soon."

"He's not fuckin' touchin' you," Daryl replied, standing and making his way over to her by the window, "I don't care if I have to kill each and every single one of his men, no one is going to touch you."

Smiling and lifting a hand to his cheek, Beth whispered gently, "That means killing your brother."

Eyes locked with hers, he replied sternly, "Yes."

**OK… What? What just happened you may ask? Who is "he" and what has Merle got to do with anything? Hmm…. Just means that things are going to start getting a lot more interesting. Thanks for reading everyone. **


	4. Three

AN: Apologise again all, things happen and fanfiction is the first that gets forgotten about. Enjoy. (Note, no flashbacks in this chapter.)

**Three: Together**

Daryl and Beth stayed in the room for almost an hour, catching up on their past. Daryl learned that Beth had dropped out of college the year before. When asked why, Beth had hung her head and explained the fate of their farm hand Otis. Daryl had to think for a moment before recalling Otis, the slightly chubby man who stayed in the close by house with his wife Patricia.

"Trish died of cancer about a week before anything happened so at first we thought it was a broken heart."

"Beth, what happened?" Daryl kneeled down next to her and took her small hand into his own, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. Beth recognised it as the nervous fidget that Daryl had always had with her.

Tucking her hair behind her ear, Beth sighed heavily. "Daddy asked me to take Otis some dinner since he hadn't really left the house much after Trish died. I headed over there and… Otis was hanging in the house. He'd been dead for a few hours and after I screamed out for the others they all came over. Like I said, we thought it was cause of Trish but then Rick said he could smell something really faint… and he confirmed it."

"Beth, who did he smell?"

"Your brother. Merle killed Otis." Daryl didn't know wether to scream, punch something or just leave. He stood and gripped his head, her words finally sinking in. "Son-of-a-bitch just doesn't learn does he. Shacking up with that asshole does nothing, gonna get himself killed."

Beth stood and pulled his hands down from his hair. "Daryl, he's working for him, always has been. Ever since we took you in and not him. You shouldn't feel bad for him."

"I don't, fukin' traitor. He knows that if he comes after you I'll kill him." Beth smiled and touched his chest gently with one hand. "What happened though, after Otis died?"

"He called daddy, asked if he liked his gift. Daddy started yelling and screaming and he said 'I'm comin' to get what's mine,' and we all know what he thinks is his."

"NO!" Daryl yelled, grasping at her and pulling her close against him, hard enough for Beth to actually gasp, "He's not touching you. I should never have left, never should have left you."

Beth smiled as she melted into his arms. Five years of not touching him, of not seeing him or being with him made her miss him more and more each day.

"We need to head downstairs," she whispered in his ear and gently kissing his cheek. Daryl nodded and clasped her hand in his, tucking a stray hair behind her ear, kissing her forehead softly before heading downstairs with his wife.

The pack ended up convening over dinner that night, Daryl sitting beside Beth – his rightful spot – as Hershel went over the current situation. "As you all know, Daryl has returned to our pack and at a great time."

"Who needs 'im," Shane stuttered while sipping on a bottle of beer. He chuckled and looked over the bottle at Daryl, who frowned. If not for Beth's soft hand on his knee, he would have jumped over the table and pummelled the idiot.

"Shane, you will show respect to Daryl. He is the husband of my daughter, a pack leader in his own right."

"Yeah well, not in my eyes," Shane snapped, finishing his beer and leaving the table. Rick stood to follow him but Hershel held out a hand to stop him.

"No, let him go."

Rick sat back down and huffed. "Stubborn idiot," he stated, "It's gonna get him killed one day."

"Or I will," Daryl muttered out, Beth hushing him gently. Hershel cocked an eyebrow at his son-in-law by pack and smiled at his daughter. "We need a plan."

"And we will make one, one that will keep each of us safe as well as keep my daughter in your arms." Daryl nodded and took Beth's hand and placed both their hands together on the tabletop.

"No one will touch her," he promised, squeezing her hand and watching as each member of the table nodded their heads. "Not with me there."

**Again, I'm sorry about the lateness but I shall try and update more often. The season final of Bitten was amazing and I cannot wait for season 2. I hope everyone is enjoying the story, I know that I am having a great time writing it. I am seeing this story wrapping up at about ten, maybe twelve chapters. Thanks again.**


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